Denis Shafikov vs. Rene Alvarado, HBO Latino, December 9

Boxing fans will be treated to an exciting clash on HBO Latino beginning at 1:05 a.m. ET/PT (tape delayed) or immediately following live HBO telecast in addition to the previously announced HBO Boxing After Dark (10:20 p.m. ET/PT) tripleheader on Saturday, December 9 from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

Presented by Zanfer Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Tom Loeffler, tickets priced at $250, $200, $150, $100 and $50 are now on-sale and can be purchased at AXS.com or in person at the Mandalay Bay Events Center Box Office.

“Adding this highly competitive fight to our already announced tripleheader provides excellent value for boxing fans attending this event,” said Tom Loeffler. “With every promotion providing the most quality fights possible is a key for the most fan-friendly events and these four announced fights is a validation of our efforts. We look forward to a memorable weekend at one of the country’s premier entertainment venues.”

Victorious over top lightweight contenders Richard Commey and Jamal Herring in 2016, the ABEL SANCHEZ trained Denis Shafikov is now looking to make a world title run in the junior lightweight division. Over the last two years, the 32-year-old Shafikov, known for his all-action style, has come up just short in world title losses to hometown favorites Robert Easter Jr. and Rances Barthelemy.

The 28-year-old Rene Alvarado will look to continue his three-fight winning streak as he performs for the fifth time in 2017.

“Rene Alvarado rocked Yuriorkis Gamboa and with the style of Denis Shafikov this could very well be the best fight of the night,” said Abel Sanchez.

Following a hotly contested decision loss to former world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa on March 11, 2017, Alvarado has run off a string of impressive victories over Moises Olivas, Roger Gutierrez and David Morales.

The previously announced HBO Boxing After Dark tripleheader is headlined by the highly anticipated return of four-time world champion in two weight divisions, ORLANDO “Siri” SALIDO (44-13-4, 31 KOs), of Sonora, MX, facing off against fellow Mexican warrior MIGUEL “Mickey” ROMAN (57-12, 44 KOs), of Chihuahua, MX, in a 12-round clash for the vacant WBC Interim Junior Lightweight Title.

Also featured on the card is a bout between TEVIN “American Idol” FARMER (25-4-1, 5 KO’s), of Philadelphia, PA as he squares off against KENICHI OGAWA (22-1-0, 17 KO’s), of Tokyo, Japan for the vacant IBF Junior Lightweight World Title. Farmer vs. Ogawa is presented in association with DiBella Entertainment and Teiken Promotions.

Opening the HBO Boxing After Dark telecast is former WBC World Super Featherweight Champion FRANCISCO “El Bandido” VARGAS (23-1-2, 17 KOs) who will return to the ring to make a case for title contention when he takes on former two-time world title challenger STEPHEN “Swifty” SMITH (25-3, 15 KOs) in a 12-round super featherweight fight. Vargas vs. Smith is presented in association with Matchroom Boxing.

Shak is too short for lightweight, he might be too short for jr light. At the upper levels, any handicap is exploited and walking through a blizzard of punches looks bad, no matter how well he takes them.

[QUOTE=nghtmr111;18219043]Also rooting for Shafikov... he was robbed against Robert Easter. There was another robbery earlier that night that was granted to another Ohio native. It was so bad the crowd in Ohio boo'd the decision that was granted, knowing how…

[QUOTE=nghtmr111;18219043]Also rooting for Shafikov... he was robbed against Robert Easter. There was another robbery earlier that night that was granted to another Ohio native. It was so bad the crowd in Ohio boo'd the decision that was granted, knowing how…

Also rooting for Shafikov... he was robbed against Robert Easter. There was another robbery earlier that night that was granted to another Ohio native. It was so bad the crowd in Ohio boo'd the decision that was granted, knowing how…